Graveside

Process notes:
I struggled with the composition of this one. I couldn't figure out where to put the people and ended up with lots of sky. Phooey. I considered fleshing out the figures more, or adding more people, but I thought it would make it go from bad to worse.

I painted in the sky first using wet-on-wet (which I hardly use in this journal) and realized no cloud in the sky tipped at a 45° angle. Sheesh, what was I thinking???? Painted the tree like a second-grader. Painted the tent and stuff under it, then took a frustration break.

When I came back to it I realized painting just the main subject matter and leaving the rest black and white was a cool effect. I wouldn't have come up with that on my own, dangit. Added a bit of shading to the figure and chairs and called it done.

Sometimes less is more. Must remember this.

The Grieving Process

Funeral doings are hard on the waistline. Oy.
(Drawn in the emergency sketchbook.)

Sometimes the best thing to do is snuggle a cat or two. Or six.

A Death in the Family

Mammaw Speck began calling the extended family and I looked up the names and numbers of folks to be notified. Then, feeling about as useful as the hind tit on a boar hog, I starting drawing.

Once all the phone calls were finished Mammaw Speck started cooking. Here in the South we are hardwired to cook when somebody dies. It's a biological imperative.

Usually the funeral cooking gets delivered to the family. Since we *were* the family, we ate the pie. All of it.

Celedon Ducks

I've looked forward to this trip for months. I have the honor of the world's sweetest mother-in-law. I cherish her friendship.

We giggle like schoolgirls, share secrets, bitch about men, and sit around in our pajamas chatting away the morning. It's splendiferous whenever we get together and make her son stay home by himself.

WIP - Oil Production Station

Work in Progress
8.5" x 11" in big sketchbook
Pigma Micron 005 pen

I'm not quite happy with this. Something is missing but I can't decide what exactly. There needs to be more contrast, more blackness.

I can't decide if I want to mess it up with more pen ink, brush pen ink, a monochromatic watercolor wash, or a full color watercolor painting. Hummm...

At this point I think I should sleep on it and view it with new eyes in the morning.

Waiting for Chicken

Then she turned, squealed, and gave me a big hug. Uh Oh. Think, think, who is this girl???

When the squealing and hugging was over I had to confess to her I had no idea who she was. Turns out she was a workplace bud of Hubby's from a few years back. I had met her eons ago but didn't recognize her, only her name. Before all was said and done she squealed and hugged just about everyone in the place.

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Process notes

While I was waiting for Hubby to work his way down the line, I was studying her french braid and soft tendrils of escaping hair. Oh, oh, oh, I so needed to draw that.

I calculated the pace of the line and figured I could get in a quick sketch of her and her curly haired companion before we got to the order window. They were engrossed in conversation and completely oblivious to me standing behind them. I had just pulled out my emergency sketchbook when the hugging and squealing started.

We all visited until we got our orders placed, then sat down to wait. Miz French Braid was chatting up a couple right by us, so I got a good view of her braid again. Filled in the curly haired lady from memory (she had since disappeared).

The guy leaning on the cabinet pondering his supper choices really had a pointy head like that. I drew it as I saw it but the drawing looked too pointy for reality. Did a surreptitious double check of the guy, then the drawing, then the guy again, and the drawing, and yep, his head really was that pointy. Yikes.

The young couple on the left had a new baby with them. The girl had the most beautiful long, sleek, black-almost-blue hair. Gorgeous.

The old guy sitting across the dining room waiting on his order realized I was drawing him and I think it made him nervous. Sorry dude, didn't mean to worry you.

15 Seconds of Fame

I was thrilled and honored to find my little sketch blog had been listed in a Web100.com article "10 Inspiring and Idiosyncratic Sketchblogs." Woot!

Author Katherine J. Chen wrote:

"Speck’s artwork is surreal and imaginative, yet also grounded in everyday reality. On the same page, she can draw a purple Sleep Monster as well as a quick sketch of the local DMV. Her drawings and watercolors are usually labeled with captions that personalize her work, followed by her own scathing criticisms of each piece. Speck covers a wide variety of seemingly random objects that ultimately only enrich her blog, from giraffes to paintbrush holders to studies on Albert the Dog-Nosed Fish."

Very high praise indeed! Thank you very much Ms. Katherine!

I was doubly honored to find I was included with a group of professional artists whom I greatly admire: Anthony Zierhut, Andrea Joseph, and Bill Fehr. Wow! These are enormously talented people and then there's little ol' me. I stick out like a turd in a punchbowl! LOL!

Thank you Katherine Chen and Web100.com for making my day a whole lot brighter. Now I'm going to dog paddle to the edge of my bowl, dry myself off, rub a few crayons on some paper, and try to live up to my newfound reputation.

The Art of Hand Sanitizer

Learned the coolest trick ever today...hand sanitizer rubbed over ballpoint pen makes a neat watercolory effect for blending and shading.

Good to know when doing bar tricks.